Eighteen years.
That's how long it took.
Eighteen long years and I still had yet to figure out how to regain my actual form. Don't get me wrong, being made of water is pretty useful, but it got annoying after a while, especially because no one could read my expressions when I talked to them; I had to be pretty careful with my words.
I spent those years watching and waiting - very boring, mind you. Don't recommend it. Zeus was just living with his really loud...uncles; I'll call them. At first, I was pretty skeptical. I mean, I knew that he was raised by a company of clashing soldiers and I knew that they were loud, but knowing did nothing to prepare me for the actual insane loudness of them. (Certainly loud enough for Kronos not to hear his wailing, even though the future lord of the skies definitely had a healthy set of lungs in him. That's probably where all of his hot air came from.)
The boisterousness came not only from their spears and shields but also from their mouths, as the soldiers danced and sang and shouted cries into the heavens. What they were so happy about all the time, I'd never know. Maybe it was some sort of alcoholic beverage that came from one of Amalthea's teats. (She was a goat.) And just so you know, I didn't let baby Zeus drink the alcoholic version. That would be called irresponsible parenting.
Once Zeus was old enough - which was extremely confusing because gods' ages are stupid - the soldiers trained him to use weapons - swords, shields, spears, daggers, you name it; he learned to wield them all. I'm sorry to say that I had no part in it, despite how much I would've loved knocking my arrogant uncle onto his butt a of couple times, because there was no part in the legend where I'm supposed to be, and I can't go changing the future - only making sure that it happens as it should.
Eighteen years went by and I finally thought that he was ready. Zeus knew how to fight. He knew how to be sneaky. He was smart...ish. In other words, he was everything that we needed for my plan - plagiarized from ancient myths - to work.
I appeared in Rhea's chambers, invisible yet again until I was sure she was alone. "My queen," I greeted.
She turned with a smile, more than used to my entrances by now. I showed up now and again to bring news of her son, and to relay her messages of love to him in return. It was, most likely, the most eventful thing that happened to me in the past seventeen years, which was kind of sad. I was starting to understand how Hermes felt, running back and forth to deliver messages and gossip all over Olympus - and Olympus wasn't even made yet!
"My saviour," she replied, ecstatically. (I still hadn't told her my name, so she'd taken to calling me that. It was only a bit annoying.) "Do you bring more news of my beloved baby boy?"
I chuckled. "Zeus is not much of a baby anymore, my lady. In fact, I think he is finally ready to overthrow his father, your husband."
Her eyes lit up even brighter. "Are you certain? How excellent!"
I guess that statement perfectly summed up their marriage. I almost chuckled at what a bad husband Kronos was. Then again, he deserved every bit of her hatred after swallowing five of her children.
"Do you have the mixture?" I asked instead.
Rhea nodded, pulling a small vile from within the folds of her robe. "Metis brewed this up for me especially. She doesn't know who it is for, just that it had to be made strong enough for a Titan - and given how many are in the court, she couldn't possibly guess who." She frowned a little. "Though she probably could, considering I spent the entire time meeting with her complaining about my husband." She shrugged. "Oh, well. She never liked him, anyway."
(I'd like to say that she spent this entire ramble waving the vial around, not even noticing every time I reached for it. After my fifth attempt to grab it, I gave up.)
She handed me the vial, which was now full of bubbles.
"Is this supposed to be shaken?" I asked, feeling a half-grin tug at my cheeks.
Rhea blushed. "No, but it's fine either way."
"Alright." I was gone again.
"Are you sure you know what to do?" I asked, disguised as one of the soldiers. (Marty was fine, just taking a nap while I used his likeness.)
Zeus scowled, snatching up the emetic. "I'm not stupid, you know. Of course I know."
With my hands on my hips, I felt a lot like my mother. "Then you'll find no trouble repeating the plan to me right now, I take it?"
"Um…refresh my memory?"
"That's what I thought." I sighed. "You go in and disguise yourself as the king's cup-bearer. This will be a challenge because Kronos is kind of a paranoid jerk. Then-"
"-Then I add this to his Nectar and give it to him. Got it."
"Yes. You'll slip it into his Nectar and once he drinks it, he'll vomit up your siblings." I shuddered. "Maybe you should bring a towel, too, in case they're still covered in Titan stomach juices."
Zeus shuddered, too, wrinkling his nose. "Gross."
"Tell me about it. You know what? Never mind. Just make sure you get them and take them away from the castle. Then you can plan your counterattack against your father."
He nodded, then turned to leave. The hard set of his jaw and eyebrows told me just how determined he was. He wouldn't fail in his quest. He would save his siblings and he would defeat his father. Then, the world would be saved from his tyranny.
"Good luck," I told him.
"I don't need luck." The boy left without another word.
Of course, I followed him - after depositing Marty's body back in the cave. I no longer needed it where I was going. I floated along, invisible, behind Zeus all the way to the Black Castle, careful to avoid making any noise. For some reason, I had footsteps even without feet; kind of a missed opportunity there…
The young eighteen-year-old god snuck in through one of the servants' entrances that I'd mapped out for him and snuck down the halls with stealth only learned from years of practice. We'd been training him his whole life for this moment - I knew that he wouldn't fail. That meant that he knew exactly when to hide and exactly when to continue walking as servants and Titans wandered the halls, completely ignoring him. He was dressed like just another servant, after all, and no one ever paid attention to a servant who was just on the cusp of manhood. (Then again, they might've even thought that he was younger; Zeus had a bit of a baby-face.)
He found the cup-bearer rather easily, and I recognized him immediately from the detailed descriptions that Rhea provided me with.
"That's the one…" I whispered in his ear.
Zeus nodded and immediately knocked out the poor boy, dragging him into an alcove behind a curtain to strip him of his uniform. When Zeus reemerged, he'd already donned the uniform, and his face flickered from my illusions. The vial in his left hand hung unstoppered so I knew that he'd already added it to the goblet he balanced on his obsidian platter.
I whizzed down the halls after him, silently and unseen like a breeze. Probably a sea breeze, given who my father is - hopefully, it wasn't too strong. Only sons of Poseidon were lucky enough to have B.O. that smelled like Ocean Winds as if it was some cologne.
Before I knew it, we were in the throne room, and I nearly snarled at seeing the familiar room. Last time I was here, I'd heard the Fates declaring this moment, the moment when Zeus stood up against his father and rescued his siblings in open defiance to Kronos' tyrannic rule. This moment would spark the rebellion of the Olympian gods against the powerful (ugly) Titans. Hopefully, just like in the myths, they would win and Olympus would be born.
I knew I couldn't interfere from this point on. I'd put the pieces into play - selected my pawns and knights and rooks, all in my efforts to take down the enemy king, but from now on, I couldn't make another move. My field would play itself, and hopefully, my formation was good enough to win. (I really hoped it would work; I was never any good at chess.)
"My lord," Zeus said in a voice that wasn't his own. He held the obsidian platter up, offering the glittering goblet to his father.
Kronos didn't know that he was the boy's father, though my heart still seized as he glared warily at the goblet as he took it from its perch. He took a whiff, then a sip, and, deeming it fine, he down the whole glass.
For a second, nothing happened.
My heart sank.
What was wrong? Had the elixir not been strong enough? Had the Nectar diluted it too much? Did Rhea's friend even give us an elixir, or was she secretly on Kronos' side all along?
Thankfully, my thoughts ground to a halt, as if a loose screw had gotten stuck in the gears of my mind because Kronos suddenly doubled over. The goblet slipped from his hand. When he looked up, his face had turned an ugly shade of green.
I grinned.
Word Count: 1621
Average Words Per Chapter: 2,168
CSP2708
Dylan Walts